Qatar Is Only ‘High Risk’ Bid Among Nine World Cup Candidates

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Qatar’s bid to host the soccer World
Cup is the only one of nine contenders to stage the event in
2018 or 2022 to receive an overall “high” operational risk
rating from the sport’s governing body.

The country has set aside $50 billion to complete works if
it wins the right to become the first Middle East host of the
World Cup, in 2022. An official document sent by FIFA to its 24-member decision-making body, and seen by Bloomberg, also listed
Qatar’s facilities for teams as “high risk.”

In a separate FIFA assessment of all bids made public
yesterday, the Gulf state’s suitability to host sport’s most-watched event was questioned because of the “potential health
risk” posed by its summer temperatures -- which can reach more
than 46 degrees centigrade (115 degrees Fahrenheit) -- and
challenges linked to having 12 stadiums within a 20-mile radius.

“We recognize that concerns have been expressed about
climatic conditions in Qatar in the summer months,” the bid’s
Chief Executive Officer Hassan Al-Thawadi said in a statement.
“The precautions referred to in the report have already been
put in place with our proposed air-cooled solutions for stadiums,
training sites, fans zones and other outdoor areas.”

Qatar 2022 had no further comment to add on the document
sent to FIFA’s executive committee.

Russia’s proposal to stage the 2018 World Cup is the only
other bid not to get an overall “low risk” rating. The country
is a “medium risk” operationally amid concerns over its
airports and international connections, which are rated as high-risk.

Final Vote

“Risks in the operational area that FIFA has flagged up in
their Bid Evaluation Report are already being addressed and will
all be solved well ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, should
Russia be awarded the honor to stage the event,” Andreas Herren,
a spokesman for the bid, said in a statement.

With the final vote set for Dec. 2, other bidding nations
have reacted to the publication of the evaluation reports by
FIFA.

The U.S., which is competing with Qatar as well as
Australia, Japan, and South Korea for 2022, hasn’t received
government guarantees required to stage the 32-team tournament.

The bid committee’s Executive Director David Downs said all
those guarantees have been signed, but were modified because of
U.S. law.

“We have been in conversations with FIFA about this and
they are comfortable with the situation,” Downs said.

Technical Report

Of the 2022 bidders, the U.S., South Korea and Australia
had more “low risk” marks than Japan and Qatar in the 17
categories listed in FIFA’s report.

“Our bid has ticked all of the boxes and our full
government guarantees mean we really will be a ‘no worries,’
friendly and safe option for FIFA and the football fans of the
world,” Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley said in a
statement.

England and Spain/Portugal’s joint offer posed the overall
lowest risk in the all-European race for 2018. Then came
Netherlands/Belgium and Russia. FIFA has expressed concerns
about the practicality of joint bids.

Andy Anson, chief executive of England’s 2018 effort, said
the technical reports won’t be the only factor in determining
who gets the event, which is worth $5 billion according to a
report commissioned by the U.S. bid.

“I don’t know if technical reports can win bids but I know
they can lose them,” Anson told reporters in London yesterday.

England’s bid has rebounded from the possible damage done
to it by revelations in the Sunday Times newspaper that led to
the suspension of two FIFA executive committee officials, Anson
said.

Expulsions?

Nigeria’s Amos Adamu and Tahiti’s Reynald Temarii allegedly
told undercover reporters their votes could be bought. They may
be expelled from FIFA today when the findings of an
investigation are announced.

England last week wrote to the voters to dissociate the bid
from the country’s media after officials including FIFA
President Sepp Blatter questioned the methods used to uncover
information. Anson also visited the British Broadcasting Corp.’s
Director General Mark Thompson over a documentary about FIFA
that the broadcaster is planning to run days before the final
vote.

“If they truly believe there’s a journalistic reason for
this they could have done it any time in the last two years. To
do it like this is sensationalism,” Anson said. “I didn’t ask
him for anything but all I said was, ‘Here are the potential
implications.’ It’s not very patriotic of the BBC.”